Get Current: PD Reserve Accuracy Challenge

This is hot off the press from the Performance Designs gang – the PD Tour is taking the Reserve Accuracy Challenge on the road this summer!

Debuted at the PD Orange event in Z-Hills last fall, the Reserve Accuracy Challenge provides you with a way to find out how your reserve flies and lands by simulating the challenge of landing in someones Florida back yard, complete with palm trees and pink plastic flamingos. You achieve this by having a demo reserve hooked up as a main canopy, and then the goal is to fly it in for a safe, tippy toe landing, without spilling someones beer or crushing a plastic bird.

Be prepared – know how your reserve flies.

Most of us are pretty confident that we can put our canopy down safely, even in the event of an off landing in a tight area. But can you confidently say the same about your reserve canopy? Are you familiar with all of its flight characteristics and how it differs from the main you are flying?

Out of sight, out of mind – but it doesn’t have to be.

The best reason to get familiar with your reserve parachute is because we don’t often use it, and rarely even think about it. Odds are greater that you will find yourself in a sketchy situation where you have to land in a tight area, off the dropzone, and on your reserve rather than your main canopy. Knowing how your reserve flies will lower your stress level when you find yourself having to deploy and land it.

You are probably at a different wing loading on your reserve than on your main, and should know how that affects your flight. Plus, you’ve probably just encountered some form of chaos…so learning to fly your reserve while trying to find a place to land certainly doesn’t help your stress level.

FUN way to practice EP’s

Practicing emergency procedures is often tedious and repetitive, without any form of instant gratification that skydivers crave. But testing your reserve accuracy makes for a fun competition that anyone can participate in. The idea behind our backyard reserve accuracy challenge is to provide you the opportunity to get under a PD Optimum, see what flying the most popular reserve on the market is like and practice flying and landing your reserve in a backyard setting. Don’t worry, it’s all inflatable! Backyard accuracy is a fun way to test your skills and compete with your peers for a shot at the glory of being the reserve accuracy champion (there’s that instant gratification). In the end, you will have learned new skills that will make you a more well-rounded skydiver and better prepared for that ‘oh, shit!’ moment.

Many thanks to PD staff writer Ella Ran for this submission – learn more about the PD Reserve or the Optimum on the PD website.